Cars are being trained to work more like humans gauging movement intentions from pedestrians

So when a person begins to cross the street but changes their mind a driverless car might just just stop and wait.

But engineers at Perceptive Automata have developed artificial intelligence software which enables driverless vehicles to understand the state-of-mind of people, including pedestrians, cyclists and other motorists.

With the software installed, autonomous vehicles can anticipate what pedestrians, cyclists and motorists might do next.

Automated vehicles need this capability to drive safely, smoothly, and predictably in a human-dominated road environment.

It works by assessing whether pedestrians appear to know if the car is there or not

The predictive technology lets self-driving vehicles make rapid judgments about the intentions and awareness of people on the street - giving machines unprecedented human-like intuition.

Perceptive Automata’s software comes into its own when a pedestrian begins to cross the street but sees the approaching autonomous car and decides to stop and ‘wave’ it on.

In this situation, an autonomous vehicle without the software would stop and wait, even though the pedestrian has no intention to cross.

However, the new software will read the pedestrian’s intent and passes this information to the autonomous system’s decision-making module, allowing the car to continue safely on its route.

Perceptive Automata, which is based in Boston, USA, has now been backed by Hyundai CRADLE, the car firm’s technology investment arm.

John Suh, vice president of Hyundai CRADLE, said: “One of the biggest hurdles facing autonomous vehicles is the inability to interpret the critical visual cues about human behaviour that human drivers can effortlessly process.

“Perceptive Automata is giving the AV industry the tools to deploy autonomous vehicles that understand more like humans, creating a safer and smoother driving experience.”

This is used to train deep learning models to interpret human behaviour the way people do.

The end result is sophisticated artificial intelligence software that can be integrated into autonomous driving systems. With the software installed, autonomous vehicles can anticipate what pedestrians, cyclists and motorists might do next.

MOST READ IN TECH

ON THIN ICE

What is global warming, what causes it and what effect is it having?

CLIMATE CONFUSION

Global warming WORSE than we thought as famous 15-year 'pause' dismissed

MAP MYSTERY

FOLD ON

WEBBED FEAT

Get Marvel's Spider-Man for under £30 today as Argos and ShopTo slash prices

Driverless Range Rover Sport was set loose on one of the UK's most challenging roads in Coventry

Hyundai has been one of the leading car manufacturers in the development of autonomous driving technology.

Earlier this year, a fleet of Hyundai Nexos self-drove 118 miles from Seoul to Pyeongchang, reaching speeds of almost 70mph on a route which included built up areas and open roads.

Sid Misran, co-founder and CEO of Perceptive Automata, added: “We are ecstatic to have an investor on board like Hyundai that understands the importance of the problem we are solving for self-driving cars and next-generation driver assistance systems.

“Hyundai is one of the biggest automakers in the world and having them back our technology is incredibly validating.”

Are you excited for the future of driverless cars? Let us know in the comments!

We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368 . We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.